Say hello to Chicago Fire FC.
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That’s right. Chicago Fire Soccer Club (SC) is no longer, as the Major League Soccer franchise in the Windy City has been rebranded.
With the team moving downtown to be based at Soldier Field for the 2020 season, under new ownership and plenty of changes going on, a new logo and slightly different name has now arrived.
Many were calling for the Fire part of their name to be removed, but that has remained as the team which arrived in MLS in 1998 revealed why it has decided to rebrand itself.
“Chicago Fire FC’s badge honors the founding legend of Chicago itself. After the Great Fire of 1871 razed the city to ashes, the people of Chicago stood on still-scorched earth and resolved to rise again.
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐨'𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. pic.twitter.com/uCpz211gjs
— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) November 21, 2019
“At the center of our badge, the Fire Crown -- with flames inverted to become a crown -- tells the story of a dramatic rebirth, and how it became the legend of our city’s people. Bold, Brave, Big-Hearted. The same qualities that inspired Chicagoans to build a great world city from the ashes of the Great Fire, are still alive in every neighborhood, among some of the extraordinary people who call Chicago home. These are the people who make no little plans. They stand for Chicago, as we invite you to.”
In a flashy new era for MLS, franchises like the Fire need to keep up with the LAFC’s and Atlanta United’s of the world.
This stadium move to Soldier Field is a perfect chance for them to create a new identity, but not removing Fire from their name does seem like a missed opportunity to reinvent themselves.
Swapping FC for SC isn’t going to make a huge difference when all is said and done.